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Topic: Airplane/airport Ettiquette (Read 34100 times)

1) You will be in close quarters with strangers for a considerable period of time. Therefore, please ensure you wash and use deodorant. However avoid overuse of heavily perfumed items, these can be migraine triggers/allergic reactors for many people.

2) Armrests: The aisle and window seats have 2 armrests. Therefore it is polite to leave the inner armrest for the person sandwiched in between the aisle and window, in order to make the journey as comfortable as possible for everyone, and not just yourself. Also, the armrests are there for a reason, and putting them up is not only an intrusion into your seatmates space, but can also be dangerous.

3) Children: It is your job to ensure your children are kept quietly entertained throughout the flight. Do not provide noisy games and toys for them unless you can also provide headphones to keep the noise private. Do not allow your children to run along the aisles of the plane, as this can be both disruptionary to your fellow passengers, and dangerous. Do not allow your children to constantly badger the people sitting in front or behind you. While I am sure they are entertaining, I do not need 60 mins of proof of this fact.

4) Space: This is very limited on a plane. However please try to manouver yourself while causing as little disruption as possible to your seatmates in front of you. Being kicked and kneed in the back every 5 mins is no-ones idea of a fun flight.

5) Babies: It is not acceptable to change your baby on the plane seat. The only acceptable place to change your baby is in the toilet, on the change table provided, or else on a mat on the toilet floor. If it is not possible to do this due to space/health limitations, see a flight attendant, and they will be able to find you an alternative that will provide minimum disruption to all concerned. Please also do your best to keep your baby quiet. I know this is not always possible, however your fellow passengers will look a lot better upon you if they can see you at least attempting to quiet a screaming baby, rather than just ignoring it.

6) Storage bins: Please use the bins directly above your seat. Taking ones further back/forward just inconveniences everyone, including yourself. Also make sure anything you may need during the flight is close at hand. Your fellow passengers do not want to be made to move every 10 mins while you grab your handcream/reading glasses/water etc.

7) Personal Space: If your seatmate is reading/listening to music/knitting etc. it means they do not wish to be disturbed.

Sleeping: If you wish to sleep on the flight, please do not recline your chair all the way back. As already stated, space is limited on these flights, and a few extra inches for yourself, means less inches for the passenger behind you.

9) Dis-embarking: It is not a race to the terminal. If you do not have a connecting flight, then let those who do leave first. Once you get off the plane, you are still going to have to wait for your luggage to arrive, so rushing is not going to make you get out any faster.

10) Luggage collection: Do not crowd the carousel. Doing so prevents other people from seeing their luggage. Stand back until you see your case on the carousel, standing right beside the carousel will not make your luggage arrive any faster! On this note, please keep children away from the carousel. It is not safe.

11) Security: Please make sure you are prepared when you go to security. Your fellow travellers do not want to wait 20 mins while you finally remember to empty your pockets, and pack away everything into your carry on. Before approaching security pack everything into your carry on and have your coat on your arm ready to put into a bin. On this note please dress to make security as simple as possible. This is not the time to try out those new boots with the laces up to the knees, or layer 4 different tops and cardigans.

12) When moving through the airport, please keep moving in the narrow corridors and on the walkways. If you need to stop move to one side first, and avoid blocking other passengers. Also please keep to the right on the moving walkways, if you do not wish to walk.

5) Babies: It is not acceptable to change your baby on the plane seat. The only acceptable place to change your baby is in the toilet, on the change table provided, or else on a mat on the toilet floor. If it is not possible to do this due to space/health limitations, see a flight attendant, and they will be able to find you an alternative that will provide minimum disruption to all concerned. Please also do your best to keep your baby quiet. I know this is not always possible, however your fellow passengers will look a lot better upon you if they can see you at least attempting to quiet a screaming baby, rather than just ignoring it.

Maybe I don't fly enough, but I have never encountered a change table on an airplane, nor would the floor of the lav be an appropriate place to change a baby.

When my children were babies we flew quite a bit to visit my parents and I changed the babies on the floor in front of my seat on a mat that I carried in my diaper bag. I doubt that anyone around was even aware of what I was doing as I and my children took up the row of 3 seats.

Most lavs on airplanes are very small and if you were to put a baby down on the floor they are going to reach up and touch things. It's just disgusting! And one shouldn't walk around the plane with a baby in their arms--it can be dangerous to the baby; and fully loaded, a diapered baby can be dangerous to others.

If there is no changing table in the lav, I think the appropriate thing would be to ask a flight attendant what you should do to accommodate your child's needs in this regard.

13) Simply because you are past security and therefore only ticketed people are here, this does not mean that your kids get to run around and be hideous annoyances from heck because "we're in a safe area".

14) Please don't stop dead in the middle of the gangway while people ar exiting the plane. Move over to one side and do whatever it is you need to do: wait, tie a shoe lace, etc.

If there is no changing table in the lav, I think the appropriate thing would be to ask a flight attendant what you should do to accommodate your child's needs in this regard.

I agree, Ckimoo. Changing babies on a plane was the subject of a very contentious thread here not long ago, and no conclusion was reached about the 'acceptable' thing to do. I agree that it's best to just ask the flight attendant.

Regardless of the fact that most airline seats are reclinable, it is not considerate of those behind you to recline yours back so far that the passengers behind you cannot get out of their seats or lower their tray tables. If a passenger behind you asks you to bring your seat forward for one of these two purposes, please oblige them.

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13) Simply because you are past security and therefore only ticketed people are here, this does not mean that your kids get to run around and be hideous annoyances from heck because "we're in a safe area".

12) When moving through the airport, please keep moving in the narrow corridors and on the walkways. If you need to stop move to one side first, and avoid blocking other passengers. Also please keep to the right on the moving walkways, if you do not wish to walk.

Regarding the bolded part, the rule here in Australia is to keep to the left if you're not walking. Generally it follows the rule of traffic, whichever side would be the slow lane if you were driving a motor vehicle is the side to stand on if you are not walking on a moving walkway/escalator. If you're travelling to a different country it's best to observe others on the walkways and see where they stand as it differs.

Also I would add that if any seatmates in your row are sleeping you should try to be aware of lights which may interrupt their sleep ie: turning on overhead lights to read (only one and try to angle it towards your seat) or opening the window shade in the morning and letting sun pour through before people are awake. Once you have been awakened in this fashion it's very difficult to get back to sleep.

Also - and I have to shamefully admit that I was responsible for this etiquette breach - if you are putting your mobile phone into your carry on bag switch it off before you board the plane. There's nothing worse than hearing the announcement at takeoff, having to climb over two people to get out of your seat and haul other people's bags out of the overhead locker to get to the side pocket of your bag and extract your phone.

5) Babies: It is not acceptable to change your baby on the plane seat. The only acceptable place to change your baby is in the toilet, on the change table provided, or else on a mat on the toilet floor. If it is not possible to do this due to space/health limitations, see a flight attendant, and they will be able to find you an alternative that will provide minimum disruption to all concerned. Please also do your best to keep your baby quiet. I know this is not always possible, however your fellow passengers will look a lot better upon you if they can see you at least attempting to quiet a screaming baby, rather than just ignoring it.

Maybe I don't fly enough, but I have never encountered a change table on an airplane, nor would the floor of the lav be an appropriate place to change a baby.

If there is no changing table in the lav, I think the appropriate thing would be to ask a flight attendant what you should do to accommodate your child's needs in this regard.

Every plane I've been on recently has had a changing table in the lavatory, but if your doesn't (or it's too small for the child), I agree with the OP (and you) that asking the flight attendant is the best option.

Armrests are a funny item, does one claim them? Use both? One? I tend to mention politely to seatmates that I'm short and would it be acceptable to share. I'll put my elbows on the back part and they tend to use the front part so neither person is squished. It's not perfect, but has worked in the past.

If you are not assigned a particular seat upon boarding, please do not use the 'preboard' time to secure a seat which you or your child have not been assigned to. If you need to adjust seating arrangements, wait for the person(s) to board and ask politely to switch. Remember that "No." is a completely valid answer to your request.

If you are not assigned a particular seat upon boarding, please do not use the 'preboard' time to secure a seat which you or your child have not been assigned to. If you need to adjust seating arrangements, wait for the person(s) to board and ask politely to switch. Remember that "No." is a completely valid answer to your request.

What does this mean? Do you mean people getting on the plane and taking a seat that is not theirs? Wouldn't that apply regardless of pre-board status?